A Common Life by Jan Karon

Title: A Common Life (The Mitford Years, Book 6 of 9)
Author: Jan Karon
Released: March 26, 2002
Publisher: Penguin Books
Pages: 208
Overall: ☆ ☆ ☆

Mitford’s Lord’s Chapel seats barely two hundred souls, yet millions of Jan Karon’s fans can attend the most joyous event in years: the wedding of Father Tim Kavanagh and Cynthia Coppersmith.

Will Father Tim fall apart when he takes his vows? Will Cynthia make it to the church on time? Who’ll arrange the flowers and bake the wedding cake? And will Uncle Billy’s prayer for a great joke be answered in time for the reception? All the beloved Mitford characters will be in the pews: Dooley Barlowe, Miss Sadie and Louella, Emma Newland, the mayor; in short, everybody who’s anybody in the little town with the big heart.

Of all the invented places in all the stories I’ve read, Mitford is by far my favorite. Each of the first five Mitford books are treasures, but I feel that this one falls short of the mark. For such an important part of the series there should have been a lot more plot and character development. I should also note that while this is officially number six in the series, it should be read after book number two because Father Tim and Cynthia’s wedding takes place between books two and three. It felt unnatural reading it after book number five. Overall, A Common Life was somewhat of a disappointment, but still worth reading as it is an essential part of Father Tim’s story.

Plot: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Unlike Karon’s other Mitford books, the plot development in this little novella is lacking. All the important events surrounding the wedding are touched on, but I think there is more padding needed. Where Karon could have gone farther, she stops short of the mark, making this a shorter and fluffier read that it could (and should) have been.

Characters: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

All the characters of Mitford are delightful. I love how they are all included in Father Tim and Cynthia’s love story as family. Karon writes in the voices of some main characters giving their perspective on the wedding. The reason the characters seem so real in this book is because they were developed so well in the preceding books, but judging this novel by itself, the characters’ emotions are not as thoroughly examined as they might be.

Ending: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

As one would expect, the ending to this short story is fully satisfying. Father Tim and Cynthia are married (as anyone who has read the preceding two books would know) and begin their life together on a happy note.

Writing: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

I love Karon’s writing style and the way she voices her characters. She’s a master of dialogue, and her colorful vocabulary breaths life and creativity into every page.

Cover: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

As usual, I love the beautiful cover illustration, though the blue metallic banner at the top advertising the book as a #1 New York Times Bestseller could have been done in a more tasteful color. The illustrations that embellish each chapter introduction page are likewise a lovely touch, as are the two wedding rings which divide up the chapters into sections.

Other things you can do:
Visit Jan Karon’s Website.
Purchase a copy of A Common Life.

Source: I purchased my copy of this book.